Kerslake to seek 167th Dist. House seat
WEST WHITELAND >> Ginny Kerslake has announced her candidacy for the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for the 167th District.
She will be challenging freshman incumbent Kristine Howard in the Democratic Primary on April 28.
“In times like today, when personal property rights, public safety, and the environment are being adversely impacted for corporate gain by the oil and gas industry; mental health and substance abuse disorder are devastating lives and communities; household finances are stretched by rising healthcare and pharmaceutical costs; and young adults are saddled with student debt and unaffordable housing costs we need a leader who will stand up, speak up, and work side by side with constituents, she said.
Kerslake and her husband live in West Whiteland in the home where they raised their two adult sons. She has a bachelor’s in earth science and a master’s in soil chemistry from the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada. From 1989 to 2004 she managed an analytical services laboratory, specializing in environmental and agricultural testing.
When the Mariner East pipeline project impacted her community and others across Chester County and Pennsylvania, Kerslake stepped up to co-found DelChesco United for Pipeline Safety and West Whiteland Residents for Pipeline Safety to raise public awareness. She became active in state and local politics as an advocate for public safety and the environment. This included testifying before the House Majority Policy Committee and at several Public Utility Commission hearings.
In Sen. Andy Dinniman’s case before the PUC, she was instrumental in the PUC ordering a temporary halt to Mariner East construction and operation. Ginny has a well-earned reputation as a courageous, dedicated, and knowledgeable community leader.
Kerslake ran in the 2019 Democratic Primary for Chester County Commissioner, on the heels of managing the successful 2018 campaign to elect Rep. Danielle Friel Otten in the 155th State House District.
“I realize I’m challenging an incumbent in my own party, and in some circles that is unorthodox,” she said. “However, with concerns as critical as the construction of volatile pipelines running through our community, a plan to turn Pennsylvania into the next petrochemical plastics hub, sinkholes driving our neighbors from their homes, drinking wells being destroyed, and criminal investigations and charges mounting by the day we need a fighter and champion, someone unafraid to speak truth to power.”
The 167th House District includes includes West Whiteland, East Whiteland, Charlestown, Willistown, West Pikeland, and Easttown townships and Malvern borough.